So reports Joe Schula. He read It's Only Money's column mentioning Comcast's low limited basic cable rate ($9 a month in some areas). So, as suggested, he called. Comcast couldn't offer him that deal. Instead it offered an even better one over the short term....

Schula, a retired Associated Press reporter, said he was paying just over $60.45 a month for Comcast's limited basic cable (about 30 TV channels) and high speed internet.

"Mainly we were doing it because of the high-speed internet," he explained.

He called to ask if sub-$10 limited cable was available in his area. It wasn't, for reasons detailed here. Limited basic costs $16.50 where he lives in unincorporated Washington County.

But, the Comcast customer service rep offered him another deal: For the next six months, Comcast will charge him $27.13 a month for both high speed internet and limited basic cable.

"I said, 'My goodness, are you reducing the service?'" he said. They weren't. And Schula's celebrating. "It allows me to buy one more beer a week" at one of his favorite taverns, Bud Clark's Goose Hollow Inn.